"The Robing Room: MD State Judges

Hon. Marcus Z. Shar	See Rating Details
Associate Judge Circuit Court
Baltimore County County 3rd Circuit	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 7.7 - 7 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 8.0 - 1 rating(s)	Please send me alerts on this judge E-mail Address:

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Only items marked with (*) are averaged into the displayed overall rating.

General Rating Criteria

* Temperament		(1=Awful,10=Excellent)
* Scholarship		(1=Awful,10=Excellent)
* Industriousness		(1=Not at all industrious,10=Highly industrious)
* Ability to Handle Complex Litigation		(1=Awful,10=Excellent)
* Punctuality		(1=Chronically Late,10=Always on Time)
* General Ability to Handle Pre-Trial Matters		(1=Not all Able, 10=Extremely Able)
* General Ability as a Trial Judge		(1=Not all Able, 10=Extremely Able)
Flexibility In Scheduling		(1=Completely Inflexible,10=Very Flexible)

Criminal Rating Criteria (if applicable)

* Evenhandedness in Criminal Litigation		(1=Demonstrates Bias,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
General Inclination Regarding Bail		(1=Pro-Defense,10=Pro-Government)
Involvement in Plea Discussions		(1=Not at all Involved, 10=Very Involved)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Pretrial Stage		(1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Trial Stage		(1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Sentencing Stage		(1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)

Civil Rating Criteria (if applicable)

* Evenhandedness in Civil Litigation		(1=Not at all Evenhanded,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
Involvement in Settlement Discussions		(1=Not at all Involved,10=Very Involved)
General Inclination		(1=Pro-defendant, 10=Pro-plaintiff)

Comments

What others have said about Hon. Marcus Z. Shar

Comments

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD1812
Rating:10.0

Comments:
A true scholar. Haven't had a case go to trial before him yet but I knew him in practice as one of the best and smartest trial lawyers in the state. He is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, teaches at both law schools, is a bar review lecturer, is published, and is a nationally noted speaker on the law. Not sure what the last poster was talking about. Made me curious so I searched and found that the appellate courts have yet to over turn him on a single issue although he has been on the bench for 5 or 6 years. I suppose that to one extent or another, we are all convinced that we somehow got hosed when a judge rules against us.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD1803
Rating:3.0

Comments:
Great demeanor. Regrettably, not very bright. I had an exceedingly simple issue in front of him with very straightforward on-point case law, and he still got it wrong. Most of my colleagues agreed with me that he blundered this very simple matter, granted, they all - publicly - suggested this was out of character for the judge. Not impressed.

Other

Comment #: MD1742
Rating:8.0

Comments:
A judge who has made a sacrifice ( & as is typical with seasoned attorneys, substantial paycut) to serve the Baltimore City bench. I find him thoughtful, fair, agreeable. I pray his temperament doesn't become frayed by service.

Prosecutor

Comment #: MD1012
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Finally a judge truly committed to justice. Judge Shar is always well prepared; extremely respectful and courteous to everyone in his courtroom; exceptionally bright; and eminently fair. An example for all other judges in this state.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD984
Rating:10.0

Comments:
This Judge (btw, he's in Baltimore City 8th Circuit, not B County, 3rd Circuit) has all the makings of a great judge. He listens without pre-judging either side, he acts with deliberation rather than knee-jerk preconception. He makes a good effort to judge each situation with due regard to the US and State constitutions, case law and statues, without just rubberstamping overblown accusations or illegal police conduct. I doubt the authenticity of MD973's garbled, ungrammatical comment - I haven't heard a sngle negative comment about this judge from any practitioner.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: MD981
Rating:9.6

Comments:
Judge Shar re-heard a case we'd won at District, from which the District loser had noted an appeal. In the de novo proceeding, Judge Shar gave our adversary every opportunity to present her side of the case and then some - we were wondering if we were going to lose! - ultimately, he ruled in a fair measured explanation, addressing every claim raised and thankfully correctly re-issuing judgment in our favor. Although he awarded damages, both sides were so satisfied with the explanation in his ruling that we accepted the loser's apology and have declined to pursue collection.

Prosecutor

Comment #: MD973
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Work for the people, instead of working for yourself. The worse judge ever!

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: MD850
Rating:10.0

Comments:
Outstanding judge with the disposition that all judges should but very few have